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The Williams Scale of Attitude toward Paganism: development and application among British Pagans

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Williams, Emyr, Francis, Leslie J. and Billington, Ursula. (2010) The Williams Scale of Attitude toward Paganism: development and application among British Pagans. Archiv für Religionspsychologie, Vol.32 (No.2). pp. 179-193. ISSN 0084-6724

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157361210X500900

Abstract

This article builds on the tradition of attitudinal measures of religiosity established by Leslie Francis and colleagues with the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity (and reflected in the Sahin-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Islam, the Katz-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Judaism, and the Santosh-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Hinduism) by introducing a new measure to assess the attitudinal disposition of Pagans. A battery of items was completed by 75 members of a Pagan Summer Camp. These items were reduced to produce a 21-item scale that measured aspects of Paganism concerned with: the God/Goddess, worshipping, prayer, and coven. The scale recorded an alpha coefficient of 0.93. Construct validity of the Williams Scale of Attitude toward Paganism was demonstrated by the clear association with measures of participation in private rituals.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religion
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Faculty of Social Sciences > Institute of Education
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity, Wiccans -- Attitudes, Neopagans -- Psychology, Psychology, Religious -- Research, Paganism -- Attitudes
Journal or Publication Title: Archiv für Religionspsychologie
Publisher: Brill
ISSN: 0084-6724
Date: 2010
Volume: Vol.32
Number: No.2
Page Range: pp. 179-193
Identification Number: 10.1163/157361210X500900
Status: Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version: Restricted or Subscription Access
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URI: http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/3230

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